I have never bought Bill James and I buy Shandler every year for the past 5-6 years. I have skimmed through James at Barnes and Noble. So saying that I have found Shandler to be more informative for fantasy purposes which is what I am looking for. James just doesn't seem to help me out the way I want it. Plus his projections can be found on fangraphs if I am wanting that information.

"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move."- Douglas Adams

MaudDib wrote:I have never bought Bill James and I buy Shandler every year for the past 5-6 years. I have skimmed through James at Barnes and Noble. So saying that I have found Shandler to be more informative for fantasy purposes which is what I am looking for. James just doesn't seem to help me out the way I want it. Plus his projections can be found on fangraphs if I am wanting that information.

How far back do the player's stats go for each player?

Does either book have monthly splits for players or is in first/second half stats?

Forecaster is book you want. More stats than you can imagine for last 5yrs per player including 1st 2nd half splits for last yr. Separately there is injury history for each player for last 5yrs. If your looking for information to make your own decisions with then Forecaster is the book.

I have bought Bill James book before to use for fantasy baseball draft. I did not find it that useful. Other then seting it in front of me during the draft to try and scare other owners with wow he takes this really seriously look at the book by Bill James.

Forecaster all the way for me. Great read, innovative metrics, essentially everything you need to prepare for a draft. I combine with the abundant data that fangraphs has, and I've got everything I need.

It's obviously extra work, but with the playerid's and ability to save reports, Fangraphs has become a real good tool if you want to analyze historicals.

Really depends on what you are looking for. In terms of straight projections, MLEs (Minor League Equivalencies) and draft strategies, The Forecaster is the choice. The thing I find most useful about the Bill James Handbook is his Ballpark Index section. It shows how each ballpark played in the previous season, as well as over the last three years. That alone has proven reason enough for me to buy it yearly. I'll be open right up front, I write for The Hardball Times, so take this with a grain of salt if you wish, but Brian Cartwright's OLIVER projections are pretty awesome. They are part of THT's Forecasts. The Forecasts aren't free, it costs $14.95, but you are privy to updated in season projections all year. The forecaster includes projections for the next 6 years, as well as MLEs for minor league performance, and equivalencies for performances in foreign leagues such as that of Yu Darvish and the other NPB imports and expected Cuban signings. I won't link there, because that feels spam-ish to me. Overall, you can never have too much info.

Bill James book is useless other than to maybe prop up your table if one of the legs is busted. Forecaster's projections are pretty mediocre but the methodology they use overall is very useful and is a good tool to accompany your other projections. But seriously Bill James projections themselves are probably the worst I've seen. The non fantasy content in his books are ok but nothing special.

B-Chad wrote: The forecaster includes projections for the next 6 years, as well as MLEs for minor league performance,

Not trying to be rude or anything, but The Forecaster does NOT include projections for the next 6 years. It has stats for the last 5, but the projections are only good until their update (which they provide free to those who buy the Forecaster), in the first week of March.

Baseball is a game where a curve is an optical illusion, a screwball can be a pitch or a person, stealing is legal and you can spit anywhere you like except in the umpire's eye or on the ball. ~Jim Murray

B-Chad wrote: The forecaster includes projections for the next 6 years, as well as MLEs for minor league performance,

Not trying to be rude or anything, but The Forecaster does NOT include projections for the next 6 years. It has stats for the last 5, but the projections are only good until their update (which they provide free to those who buy the Forecaster), in the first week of March.

Sorry, you caught a typo. That should read Forecast includes projections... etc. As in The Hardball Times Forecast I mentioned. Sorry for the confusion.